Epilogue: A Last Chance
by Sam Le Faie
Summary: [[Oneshot Epilogue to A Second Chance]] Lucy has something important to tell her best friend Levy, only.. what happens when her boys return from a movie outing? **Zootopia reference.


Epilogue: A Last Chance

"Lu – chan! Kochi kochi!"

"Levy – chan! It's been so long! How's everything?"

Lucy Heartfilia hopped up to where the blunette sat, the blonde laughing as she reached down to embrace one of the closest friends she had. The tiny girl had not grown an inch, even though she had put on a bit of plumpness. Lucy attributed that to her friend's recent career change.

Three years after Lucy retired to become a full time mom, Levy McGarden had pulled herself out of Fairy Scale as well in order to kick start her own online cooking lessons. The classes had taken off, and all the research that Levy had invested in the months leading up to her breakthrough had paid off. Lucy could still recall the ungodly hours at which she had received calls from the blunette, when she had needed advice on certain ingredients or simply a listening ear. Through her friend, and also the teachings of Grandine, the blonde had managed to learn a lot about what went on in the kitchen.

As was wont now, Levy opened up a small Tupperware, the interior of which boasted a salad mix with shredded chicken and different coloured cheeses.

"This is my new invention. Try it. Where's Natsu? I wanted to get his opinion on it too."

"My two best boys are at the cinema." Lucy smiled as she heaped a generous mouthful onto a spoon and slid it into her mouth.

Despite the fact that the mix was drizzled over only lightly with olive oil, the flavor of the chicken seemed to burst through, and Lucy could not avoid the decadent "Mmmm" that escaped her lips. "Is that… nutmeg?"

"Yup. Just a dash of it though, I'm still experimenting with the quantities of the toppings. There's cherry tomatoes, and a mix of herbs and some cheeses. Though this is my real secret…" Levy pointed out a small chunk of what looked like tofu. Similar chunks had been crumbled and scattered amongst the leaves and other ingredients.

"That's feta. I broke them into crumbs to let it blend better with the-"

"Feta? Oh Good Mavis!" Lucy immediately pulled back, her spoon dropping into the Tupperware. "I- I can't eat feta!"

"Huh? But you're not allergic… are you? That's not right, the last time you and Natsu came over to my place, you didn't seem to have a prob-

"Levy onee – san."

The two women looked down to see a young girl pulling on the hem of Levy's dress, her small fist clenched around the lacy frill as she looked up at the blunette with dark eyes. Six-year-old Nashi was small for her age, but that did not hide the clear intelligence in her eyes as she tiptoed to peer into the contents of the Tupperware. Half of her long pink hair was tied up into a simple ponytail from the right side of her head.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Nashi, it's Levy _oba_ – san."

"It's fine." Levy laughed as she curled the long ponytail around one hand. "I don't really look like an oba – san anyway. Yes, what it is Nashi sweetie?"

"What's mommy eating? Is that tofu?"

"No dear. It's feta, a type of cheese. Would you like to try some? Your mommy doesn't want it."

"That's cause she can't eat feta…" Nashi plucked a small cube and put it into her mouth. "I heard Daddy say so."

"And why would your Daddy say that, Nashi – chan?"

The girl licked a piece of lettuce off her finger. "This morning, he and mommy talked about her stomach, and he said… cheeses like feta would be bad for her."

"Something wrong with your stomach, Lu – chan? Do you need to see the doctor's?"

"Well… Levy – chan, the truth is- woah!"

"Mom! We're back!"

The buxom blonde fell back in her seat when a small missile came hurtling her way, nearly taking her breath away. As she puffed the loose hair from her eyes, she found herself gazing down at the beaming face of her other twin.

"How was the movie, sweetie?"

A thick lock of spiky hair flopped over his eyes before bouncing back into place. Luka Dragneel was the splitting image of his father when he was younger, with the sole exception that he had taken after Lucy's blonde hair.

"It was awesome! The animals were so cool. I really liked the black panther, especially when he went crazy! Jumping from tree to tree… Mom, why aren't I a black panther?"

"That's cause you're my darling son." Patting the back of his head, Lucy pecked her son's cheek, much to his consternation. His annoyed look gave way, however, to a sudden mischievous gleam.

"Mom, there was a joke in the film about you! Do you wanna hear it? C'mon, I wanna tell it to you! IT'S SO YOU!" The six-year-old boy was practically jumping up and down with unbridled excitement as he waited for his mother's reply.

"Alright, what is the joke?"

"What do you call a three-humped camel?"

"Huh? Uh… I don't know. Levy – chan?"

"Mmmm?" The blunette shrugged as she shook her head.

The boy harrumphed as he dug his fists into either side of his waist. "C'mon! Try answering!"

"Uh… a large camel?"

"I didn't know you were a camel, Lu – chan." Levy hid her laugh behind the Tupperware lid.

"I'm not. I don't even like camels."

"Guys! C'mon!"

"Alright, Luka. Let me see… uhm…. don't camels usually have three humps anyway?"

"No, Lu – chan, they have two. Or one. Three sounds like a result of inter-breeding."

"What's inter-breading?"

"Inter- _breeding_. It's when two different animals are-"

"More importantly, what's your answer?"

"Ok ok, Luka. Mommy gives up. What do you call a three-humped camel?"

"Pregnant!"

"Preg- LU – CHAN!"

"Oh damn. I mean, MAN! Oh, man. I guess the cat's out of the bag."

"What cat? There's no cat." Luka looked around. "What are you talking about Mom? You're a camel, not a cat."

"Stop calling me a camel, I don't like camels. Also, it's just a saying, nothing-"

"HOW CAN IT BE NOTHING?!"

Lucy gasped when Levy exploded.

"Le- Levy – chan?"

"Lu – chan, when were you going to tell me?"

"I was about to!"

"No, you weren't. The last time I only found out that you were having twins when Natsu got dead drunk and started blabbing everything to the guys. I had to find out through Gajeel!"

"Dad's not dead. What are you talking about, Levy oba – san?"

"No one's dead, sweetie. Also, Lu – chan!"

"As I told you before, the doctor had said that it was too early to tell." Lucy sighed, sweat-dropping. "Are you still holding a grudge about that?"

"I'm not holding a grudge, just that I wanna be the first to know!" Levy pouted, making her appear much younger than her 35 years.

"Well, you are now. Natsu and I found out only yesterday too. We were still wondering how to break the news to everyone."

"Mom, is Levy oba – san angry that you're a camel and she's not?"

Levy's face turned flush red. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"

"Gajeel oji – san told me…" Luka shrugged, though he started to tuck himself behind Lucy, his eyes widening slightly as he watched the blunette rage.

"Gajeel oji – san talks too much." Lucy sighed. "And stop calling me a camel. That was your last chance, call me a camel again, and you're going to get more vegetables on your plate tonight."

"Urk… Ok…"

Just at that point, Natsu Dragneel turned the corner to where the trio sat, Nashi balanced on his shoulders as she licked from an ice pop. The moment he saw them, his eyes narrowed into slits as a cheerful grin beamed from his face. Tall, and still as handsome as ever with laugh lines now crinkling the sides of his temple, the man that Lucy loved more than life itself waved exuberantly at them.

"LUCY! There's my lovely camel! Oh hey Levy! We've got news for you! What do you call a three – humped camel?"

It was the blunette's turn to smirk. "Lu – chan, you were looking for a way to break the news to everyone? I think _your_ _two best boys_ just gave you the answer.

Turning her innocent smile on, she beamed up at Natsu. "I don't know. What _do_ you call a three – humped camel?"

"Lucy!"

Did she just say she loved him more than life itself? A muscle twitched under Lucy's eye.

Natsu's grin faltered a little. "Wait. Did you get that joke, Levy? I just realized that… huh. Maybe this isn't going to work out as well as I thought." He turned away muttering to himself.

Lucy looked down to see Luka pulling on her pant leg. "Mom, is dad going to get extra vegetables too?"

"Oh you betcha." Lucy narrowed her own eyes at the stunned faces of fellow park goers as they watched the pinkette stroll by, now humming a quirky tune about his wife's lovely humps.

"He's going to get lots and lots of _something_ tonight."

I couldn't resist. J I was thinking about doing a Zootopia crossover though. Sounds like fun!

Sammie.


End file.
